Running Right
Well, Senator Joe Biden is making no bones about his intention to try to secure the nomination for President. He's also trying very hard to stake out the territory on the right side of the Democratic party. While it's refreshing to not hear someone in the Democratic party trying to pander to the far left, a la John "Hey, look! I have a hat!" Kerry, Biden still appears to have a tin ear about some things.
"The next Democrat, whether it's me or Sen. Clinton or John Kerry, whomever — the Democratic nominee — they'd better be able to ante up right in front of the American people two things: security and faith," he said.
President Bush beat Kerry in 2004 because people wanted to believe he would keep them safe, Biden said. The mothers who voted for him still want one thing primarily: "Security for their families, physical security," he said.
Biden also criticized Democrats for their sometimes patronizing approach to religion, saying believers of different faiths don't expect everyone to join them.
"They just want to know we respect them," he said. "If we can't negotiate the faith issue, forget it, we won't win."
Biden argued in favor of more money for homeland security, saying in his conversations with the nation's wealthy, he found them willing to forgo their Bush tax cuts for the cause.
He also spoke about a bill he is backing that would require all automobiles to be "flex-fuel," by 2008, able to run on more than just gasoline.
The tax cut verbiage is just silly, class warfare rhetoric. Biden knows it and is foolish to try that card. The flex fuel bill is also a way to hit consumers with an additional cost, which amounts to a tax. The impact on the lower income people will be disproportionately heavy, defeating his class warfare strategy. What's really needed here is a Democrat who understands that the Sale of Two Cities approach is a loser. Most people don't buy it any longer. Too bad the "elite" in the party don't get it. Instead of trying to paint a picture of two classes, try to appeal to everyone, all of us, getting ahead.
By Shawn, June 18, 2006 @ 6:21 pm
I thought that guy had washed up and blown away already. And it sounds like he’s simply copying Lieberman in the 2000 election, when everyone was thrilled to hear a Democrat talk about God (but by contrast, they hate it when Bush does and term him a phony).